ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) plans to begin real-time monitoring of leather production by November 2026, with the system scheduled to cover all eligible production lines by the end of December.
The initiative will use a hybrid, technology-neutral system to capture real-time or near-real-time data on production, processing, packing and dispatch at notified leather facilities across the country.
According to an official document, implementation will take place in phases, starting with 20% of eligible production lines by November 15. Coverage will increase to 50% by December 15 before reaching 100% by December 31, 2026.
The monitoring framework will cover the full range of leather-sector output, including raw hides and skins, wet blue, crust and finished leather, as well as leather sheets, rolls, bundles, footwear, garments, bags, gloves, belts, wallets and upholstery components.
Data will be captured at key stages of the production chain, including raw material receiving, tanning, splitting, dyeing, finishing, cutting, stitching, assembly, quality grading, packing, warehousing and dispatch.
The system could incorporate barcode and QR-code scanning, weighing systems, industrial sensors, machine counters and programmable logic controller integration, RFID tagging and AI-enabled cameras.
These technologies will be deployed depending on whether a facility operates as a tannery, a finished-goods manufacturer or an integrated operation covering both activities.
The system is intended to provide the FBR with tamper-resistant and auditable production data, allowing it to reconcile monitored output with taxpayers’ records, invoices and import and export declarations.
Development of the monitoring system will be outsourced. The FBR has shortlisted four developers following a technical evaluation and is expected to award the contract in the coming days.
